Tangled Pasts
by My Whole Life Is Thunder
Summary: Jackson Gibbs's unexpected arrival into town uncovers a dark connection between him and Jimmy Palmer. When Gibbs learns the secret he knows he will never be able to look at the young man the same way again. Spoilers for Faith. No pairings except implied Jimmy/Breena. Dark, ONESHOT! Complete!


Gibbs casually tossed his jacket on to the couch. Before walking into the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee. It was still a little early for bourbon. considering he had a rare weekend off and planned to be up all night working on his boat. He was just entering his basement when he heard a knocking on the door. Sighing he turned around and went to answer the door.

"Hey dad." Gibbs greeted.

"Hi Leroy." Jack replied.

"Wasn't expecting you? How long you in town?" Gibbs asked.

"Just til tomorrow afternoon. I am uh here to see an old friend. Can I use your bathroom to freshen up real quick? Then I'll be out of your hair for a while." Jack said.

"Yeah sure." Gibbs replied.

It seemed weird to Gibbs that Jack had come to town. Sure he was known for popping by unexpectedly. That was normal but the wanting to see an old friend seemed weird to Gibbs. As far as he knew Jack didn't have any friends in DC. Well there was Ducky but he was out-of-town at a conference learning the latest in the field of Medical Examination.

* * *

Jimmy was nervous. Breena had told him not to do this. Normally he hated going behind her back but he had promised his mother that he would. He was glad that she was visiting her cousins in Boston this weekend. So it was the perfect opportunity. Still this whole thing was making her extremely nervous. He had been putting this off for years and this weekend was the time to do it. If he didn't do it now he never would. He took a deep breath, locked his apartment and walked down the hall to the elevator.

"Jimmy Palmer surprised to see you on a free Friday night without Breena. Everything okay with her?" His neighbor Esther Smith asked.

"Yeah she's visiting family out-of-state this weekend." Jimmy replied.

"Oh and you didn't go along? Are you two on good terms?" Esther asked.

"Yeah I just have a meeting this weekend and my boss is at a conference so I am on call for work." Jimmy explained nervously.

"Oh well I hope you enjoy yourself." Esther said as the elevator came to a stop.

* * *

"I'm going Leroy! Should be back in a couple of hours!" Jack called.

"Alright see ya later dad!" Gibbs called back.

He sat on the couch and pretended to be watching an ancient movie on the Western Channel until Jack he heard Jack's truck start. Then he switched off the TV, and headed out to his own truck. Pulled out of the driveway and followed his dad. Making sure not to get to close and give himself away but also not to get too far behind and lose him. He followed his dad to small diner about twenty minutes from his home. He entered and watched as Jack sat down in a seat in the fairly secluded dark corner of the diner. Gibbs took a seat at the bar and ordered a cup of coffee. He kept looking over to where his dad was sitting. Jack kept looking at the door and then to his watch. Finally the door opened. A familiar face walked in and scanned the restaurant.

* * *

After spending twenty minutes in his car trying to find the courage to get out of the car and go in. Jimmy finally took one last deep breath and opened his door. He walked into the diner he had agreed to meet the man whose actions had shaken his family to its core. He swallowed hard when he saw a familiar face sitting at the bar sipping a coffee. Jimmy didn't make a sound so that he wouldn't bring any attention to himself.

"Excuse me you are Jackson Gibbs correct?" Jimmy asked nervously.

"Yes I am." Jack replied extending his hand.

"Well I'm uh Jimmy Palmer." Jimmy replied excepting Jack's handshake.

"I know I've seen you around the Navy Yard when I was visiting Leroy." Jack replied.

"Oh yeah right." Jimmy replied awkwardly.

"Well go on sit down." Jack replied.

* * *

Jimmy nodded and slid into the booth across from Jack. A waitress came over and took their drink orders Jack ordered water while Jimmy ordered a unsweet tea. They were just about to start their conversation when they were interrupted again.

"What are you doing Leroy?" Jack hissed.

"How do you know Palmer dad?" Gibbs asked.

"I just do now why are you here?" Jack demanded.

"I followed you." Gibbs replied.

"Why on Earth would you do that?" Jack asked.

"I was curious about the friend you came to meet." Gibbs explained.

"Well you've met me." Jimmy replied.

"Why are you meeting with my dad?" Gibbs asked harshly.

"Leroy this is none of your business." Jack warned.

"No Jack it's okay tell him." Jimmy replied.

"Leroy do you remember a few years ago when I came to town acting strangely and it turned out that I had shot and killed the man who robbed my store at gun point?" Jack asked.

"Yes why?" Gibbs asked.

"That man was my brother Clark." Jimmy replied voice cracking.

"What?" Gibbs asked.

"Clark was three and a half years older than me and always troubled. He had a pretty long rap sheet. Never anything to big just innocent stuff; graffiti, egging and toilet papering, under age drinking and pot at parties. Okay I guess the drinking and the pot were pretty bad but I never thought he'd do anything so horrible. He always had a good heart though. Things started spiraling out of control after my dad died. He had a fatal heart attack when Clark was sixteen and I was thirteen. Clark snuck out of school during a fire drill in third period and when he came home he found our dad dead by his truck. He was never the same after that. His occasional drinks at parties turned to alcoholism and he started taking harder drugs. Mom kicked him out after I found a Meth rock and thought it was a piece of hard candy and ate it. Yes I should have known better but I was newly diabetic and my mom was sure I'd die just like my dad did. He had it too but his was really bad. So she was super strict with my diet. So when I found this free candy in me and Clark's room I took it. I don't know what happened next but I had a super bad reaction. I must have been allergic to an ingredient or something because. Next thing I knew I was in the hospital and it was nearly a month later. My heart stopped five times and I was legally dead a twice times during that time. If my mom had found me just seconds later I'd be dead right now." Jimmy explained.

"Oh My God Jimmy that's terrible." Gibbs gasped.

"How do you not have brain damage?" Jack asked.

"I do I went from twenty-twenty vision to being almost legally blind. From perfect hearing to partly deaf and with severe tinnitus. It's also why I'm so clumsy and awkward now." Jimmy explained.

"Palmer" Gibbs whispered patting the younger mans back.

"Go on son." Jack replied trying not to cry.

"Anyway my mom had no sympathy for Clark after coming so close to losing me because of his drugs so she just threw all his stuff in the gutter and told him she never wanted to see him again. That was the straw that broke the camels back between being disowned by his mother and the guilt of almost killing his baby brother. He just completely broke down. He lived on the streets and couldn't hold down a job longer than a fortnight. He was severely depressed and suicidal. Then about eight years ago he got a girl pregnant and decided to turn his life around. He was clean until his son was two years old then he got back on the drugs. They lived somewhere in Pennsylvania and one day Clark drove for hours scamming for drug money. When he couldn't get any money that way he found a small store, grabbed his gun, and held the place up. That store was Jack's store." Jimmy finished his story.

"Palmer I am so sorry." Gibbs replied.

"Thanks" Jimmy replied.

"I am glad we finally met I met with Clark's son and his mother. Just after I was kidnapped by those people." Jack replied referring to the Reynosa cartel. He could never speak their names after what they did to his son.

"I'm glad you did that dad." Gibbs replied.

"Me too." Jack replied.

"Why are you just meeting Jimmy now dad?" Gibbs asked.

"Jimmy called me a couple of weeks back and said he wanted to meet him this weekend." Jack explained.

"It just seemed like it was time. My mom died just after Breena and I got engaged and on her deathbed she made me promise I'd meet the man who killed Clark and make amends. She always felt bad for kicking him out. She knew he'd have had a better chance of recovery if she had gotten him help. Plus I knew Breena would be gone." Jimmy explained.

"Why does that matter?" Gibbs asked.

"She didn't want me to do this. She said it would hurt me too much but I had to do it for my parents, for Clark, but most of all for me." Jimmy explained.

"Well I'm glad you did this. I finally feel closure." Jack replied.

* * *

Jimmy finally broke down and Jack moved over to comfort him. Gibbs knew that it was time for the two of them to cope with their shared pain on their own. So he stood up, paid for both his coffee and his dad and Jimmy's drinks. Before walking out and heading home. He knew he'd never look at Jimmy Palmer the same way again.

* * *

**A/N: I know I've been really mean to Jimmy lately and I am sorry. This idea has been in my head for a while though. Anyway please review and thanks for reading.**


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